1981-09-21
1984-08-21
Apley, Richard J.
A61F 100
Patent
active
044661398
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to the field of surgery and more particularly to revascularization surgery.
As discussed in the specification of my copending Australian Pat. application No. 47208/79 (PD 4475) and corresponding U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 041,620, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,363, the majority of deaths in the Western world are due to impaired arterial flow to distal tissues and revascularization surgery has become very common.
At the present time there are severe problems in obtaining suitable conduits for many revascularization procedures and it would be most desirable to have a bank of vascular prostheses, available in a range of diameters, which can give results comparable to autogenous saphenous vein grafts.
The aforesaid copending applications describe a vascular prosthesis comprised of a tube of collageous tissue which has been subjected to glutaraldehyde tanning and which is preferably reinforced with a tube of fibre mesh. Such a prosthesis can be obtained by implanting a rod or tube within a living host animal and allowing collageous tissue to form around the implant. The implant and surrounding collageous tissue is subsequently removed and the collageous tissue then subjected to glutaraldehyde tanning.
I have now determined that animal ureters have adequate collagen content and luminal surface characteristics when subjected to glutaraldehyde tanning to perform satisfactorily as vascular grafts. This enables the preparation of vascular prostheses without the need for surgical procedures in host animals and it has been found that the resulting grafts can perform satisfactorily in wide ranging vascular situations. The ureters can be obtain from a wide range of animal species including humans, oxen, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, donkeys, camels, deer and kangaroos.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
According to the invention there is provided a vascular prosthesis comprising a length of animal ureter which has been subjected to glutaraldehyde tanning. The invention also extends to the use of such a vascular prosthesis as a surgical graft in a living human patient.
The invention also provides a method of producing a vascular prosthesis for use as a surgical graft comprising subjecting a length of animal ureter to glutaraldehyde tanning.
Preferably, the ureter is encompassed by a fibre mesh sheath. Such sheath may, for example, be formed of a mesh woven from strands of multiple fine polyester fibres.
Preferably further, the wall of the lumen of the ureter is set in a dilated condition by the glutaraldehyde tanning so as to have a smooth, generally cylindrical surface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
In the following detailed description of the preparation of vascular prostheses in accordance with the invention, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which;
FIG. 1 is a reproduction of a photomicrograph showing a section through an ox ureter in its natural state;
FIG. 2 is a reproduction of a photomicrograph showing a section through a vascular prosthesis produced in accordance with the invention; and
FIG. 3 is a reproduction of a photomicrograph showing a section through a human saphenous vein.
BEST MODES OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In a typical preparation of vascular prostheses in accordance with the invention, ureters from human cadavers, oxen or other animals are obtained under abattoir conditions. They are transported to an aseptic area where they are cleaned of fat and adherent tissue. Glass rods of 2 mm to 10 mm diameter, depending on the size of the ureters, are inserted into the lumen of the ureters so that the ureters are supported on and stretched by the rods. More specifically, the rods are of such size as to dilate the lumen of the ureters so that thin walls become compressed into a close packed structure with a smooth generally cylindrical surface. This will be described more fully below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
The lengths of the stretched ureters may vary from 10 cm to 60 cm according to the species of animal from which they are obtained. The glas
REFERENCES:
patent: 3894530 (1975-07-01), Dardik et al.
patent: 3974526 (1976-08-01), Dardik et al.
patent: 4120649 (1978-10-01), Schechter
Hershey, F. and Calman, C., "Atlas of Vascular Surgery", 1973, C. Mosby Company, pp. 33-34.
Apley Richard J.
Isabella David J.
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